Fairy therapy
Comfort blooms in Warren garden
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WARREN -- "I am an artist. My yard is my canvas," Cindy Michael of Warren said.
Michael designed four distinct gardens in her front yard alone. She raises flowers and vegetables. She turned a tree stump into an elaborate fairy garden community, complete with steps, windows and a door on the stump. Passers-by will pull to the curb at her Central Parkway home just to talk to Michael about the gnomes and fairies.
"Tending to my plants and flowers and vegetables is very calming to me," Michael, 54, said. "You can't control what happens to you. You can control what you do with what happens to you."
Michael has known heartache. Twelve years ago, two of her grandchildren were killed in a Girard house fire in a murder case that remains unsolved. A son died of a heroin overdose seven years ago. In the summer of 2015, Michael was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) breast cancer.
"The cancer had spread to my lymph nodes and my sternum," she said. "It was messing around with my right rib and it went all Pac-Man-like on my right femur bone.
"I thought it was my sciatic nerve at first. I was going to see a chiropractor. The third time, he was like, 'Cindy, if this doesn't get better, we have to take an X-ray.' I recommend every woman go the Joni Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center in Youngstown and get a 3D mammogram. The 3D will pick up stuff the others won't."
In November of 2015, she had surgery placing a titanium rod in her hip. In December of that year, she started infusions of Herceptin, Perjeta and chemotherapy every 21 days. She is no longer on chemotherapy.
"Every 21 days I get my liquid gold infusions through 'Portia,' my port. I love Portia. That is what is keeping my cancer at bay. When that doesn't work anymore, we'll try something else," she said.
Around that same time, Cindy and her husband, Ken MacPherson, lost a huge oak tree in their front lawn. The tree was almost 100 years old. They kept the trunk as a remembrance.
"We loved that tree," she said.
"That winter was so cold, dark and depressing. I couldn't go upstairs. I had a hospital bed in one of the downstairs rooms. That chemo really knocked me off my feet. To cheer me up, my friends starting sending me funny things on Facebook. My one friend sent me several fairy-related items. It just clicked to turn the stump into my fairy garden."
She created the top. She saw the windows and the doors at a craft store. Her son built the steps out of wood from the original tree.
"Creating magic via my gardens is very exciting to me. You are never too old to believe," she said.
She also has a gnome garden, an angel garden and a wild garden.
"It warms my heart to have folks stop by, especially young children, to see my gardens. They are great conversation starters," she said.
"It's my hobby. I am not the only one who gets enjoyment from it. This little girl, who was probably 4, stopped the other day. You could see in her expressions that she really believed in my fairies and their mystical magic."
Michael had the girl return a few days later. She had made her a personal fairy board from wood from the original oak tree.
Originally from Girard, Michael moved into the Central Parkway home 17 years ago. MacPherson, originally from Howland, has lived there for 20 years.
"I kind of took it over. When I moved in here, there were no gardens," she said.
The couple now have flowers that bloom for every season. They have tulips, daffodils, carnations, lilacs and crocuses. Roses, gladiolas, lilies, daisies, irises and hydrangeas are planted throughout. Peonies, hyacinths, petunias, hostas, mums and black-eyed Susans are planted as well.
Vegetable-wise, the couple grows tomatoes, peppers, parsley, kale, cantaloupes, watermelon and broccoli.
"The birds like the sunflowers and the frogs like some of the weeds," Michael said.
"Sometimes when you are planting things, you have to remember to keep in mind how big it will get. If something is going to get really big in front of another flower, you have got to move that one."
During the week, Michael spends approximately an hour a day in her garden. On weekends, she tends to spend a little more time. "I have so much that needs watered. When I am watering, that is the peace and tranquillity of it. Also, no one is allowed to weed-whack except me."
Because of their dogs and cats, the couple do not have many problems with animals eating their plants. She did find bite marks in her hostas recently.
"I Googled it, and if you put a little container of beer out there, the slugs go for the beer and leave the plants alone. And they drown."
Some of her bulbs weren't growing right because of the squirrels. As a tradeoff, she now feeds them unsalted peanuts and the bulbs are being left alone.
Out of work for 10 months, Michael returned to her job as a staff representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees last August. MacPherson is a software consultant.
Between her and her husband, they have eight kids and eight grandkids.
"My gardens are my comfort zone, my happy place," Michael said. "If I am having a bad day, I can go home and mess with the plants. Everyone needs a happy place."